Good News | From Kashmiri paper mache artists' earnings to India's aid for Gaza, here's a roundup of uplifting news

Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir: Gently stroking the vibrant canvas with a pointed paintbrush, Nowsheeba Mushtaq (18) talks about her tryst with Kashmiri paper mache. "I am a calligrapher, and I want to come up with a fusion art of paper mache and calligraphy. That is why I decided to learn it," says the class 12 student from Rainawari in Srinagar.

Mushtaq has been learning the paper mache crafting technique from Hakeem Manzoor (48), an artist from Gani Doori in Alamgari Bazar area of Srinagar, who has pioneered the art's comeback by incorporating it into the interior design concepts of houses and other buildings. Earlier, paper mache was confined to showcases as they were mostly small display items.

Once a lucrative business, paper mache became a dying art of Kashmir with the passage of time. The unprecedented floods, abrogation of Article 370, internet blockade and the COVID-19 lockdown hit the artists who remained steadfast in their commitment to traditional methods and struggled to adapt to the new model. Many of them were forced to shut down their workshops and look for other jobs.

However, those who understood the significance of Manzoor's work and followed his path were able to turn over the tide, besides breathing new life into the age-old craft. While making paper mache an attractive element in contemporary Kashmiri homes, they also began to attract young hands into the field. The new entrants were provided with a free-of-cost platform where they could not only learn, but also experiment in fusion art.

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Marian Apparel, a garments manufacturer in Kerala's Kannur, has announced that it is suspending its long-standing contract for the distribution of Israeli Police uniforms in the wake of the ongoing conflicts.

According to Kerala Industries minister P Rajeev, Marian Apparels, supplying?uniforms for the Israeli police since 2015, has decided not to take further orders until peace is restored in the region.

"As it has a moral objection to the approach of bombing places including hospitals and killing innocent people until peace is restored in the region, Mariyan Apparels has decided not to accept further orders from Israel. They have issued a media statement regarding the same as well," Rajeev said in a Facebook post.

According to Thomas Olickal, the managing director of Maryan Apparel, it was a "moral decision", adding that it was taken following the strike on a hospital and the "loss of thousands of innocent lives".

Olickal told AFP his firm will fulfill its existing commitments to Israel, which end in December, but will not take new orders.

"We are okay resuming business with them after peace is restored," added Olickal, who employs around 1,500 people at his firm. Read more by tapping on the image below.

Expressing deep concern over the mounting civilian death toll in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, India on Tuesday called up on both sides to engage in talks to end the bloodshed.

Speaking at the United Nations Security Council meeting, India's Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN, Ambassador R Ravindra, said the escalation of hostilities in the region has only exacerbated the dire humanitarian situation there.

"India is deeply concerned at the deteriorating security situation and large-scale loss of civilian lives in the ongoing conflict. The mounting humanitarian crisis is equally alarming," Ravindra said.

"Civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict are a matter of serious and continuing concern. All parties must protect civilians, especially women and children. The unfolding humanitarian crisis needs to be addressed," Ravindra added.

Reiterating India's principal position on the decades-old conflict, Ravindra said that the country supports a two-state solution resulting in the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine, living within secure and recognised borders, side by side in peace with Israel, taking into account the legitimate security concerns of Israel.

India termed the October 7 terror attacks in Israel as "shocking" and condemned them unequivocally. Ravindra noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first global leaders to have conveyed his condolences for the loss of lives and prayers for the innocent victims and their families.

"We stood in solidarity with Israel at their moment of crisis when they were facing these terror attacks," Ravindra said.

India has also expressed "deep shock" at the tragic loss of lives at the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza last week, where several hundred civilian casualties have occurred and thousands were injured.?Read more by tapping on the image below.

The Delhi High Court has held that a woman cannot be compelled to work?solely because she is a graduate.?

The Delhi HC also noted that a woman's decision not to work cannot be seen as an attempt to claim maintenance from her estranged husband. The bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna made the observations while hearing a plea by a man seeking a reduction in his wife's monthly interim maintenance.

The complainant had sought to reduce the Rs 25,000 interim maintenance to his estranged wife to Rs 15,000, arguing that she was a B.Sc degree holder.

While acknowledging that the wife is a graduate, the court noted that she had never been gainfully employed. "No inference can be drawn that merely because the wife is holding a degree of graduation, she must be compelled to work. It can also not be presumed that she is intentionally not working solely with an intent to claim interim maintenance from the husband," the court said.

While refusing to interfere in the Family Court's order, the HC also rejected the wife's plea to increase the maintenance amount. It should be noted that earlier this month, the same bench had held that interim maintenance cannot be granted to the wife under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act?when both spouses are equally qualified and earning equally.

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